


Holding On

by Seductresses_Temple



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Coping, Drabble, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Self-Worth, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 08:25:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15926612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seductresses_Temple/pseuds/Seductresses_Temple
Summary: Harry's 21st birthday hits hard





	Holding On

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Quicksilvermaid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quicksilvermaid/gifts).



> Even though I was late, I wrote this for my friend Bodye (Quicksilvermaid) for their birthday! You can also find this on my Tumblr @seductresses-temple

Harry swirled his scotch around in his glass, watching the amber liquid slosh up the sides. It was some Muggle brand he was unfamiliar with that tasted like shite; but he felt like shite so what did it matter? He took a long swig of it, wincing at the taste, the burn, but relishing in it all the same. It seemed to be the only thing able to cut through the heavy, wet, suffocating blanket consuming him more and more as the seconds ticked past. 

 

“I thought I’d find you here,” Harry felt slender arms wrap around his waist and a pointy chin on his shoulder. He leaned back against Draco a little bit said nothing otherwise. 

 

“Love, come home,” Draco was pleading with him. Maybe if Harry were sober he’d make a joke about how Malfoys didn’t beg or plead or do anything other than force people into giving them what they wanted. Harry, however, was positively off his arse. 

 

“This is no way to spend your birthday, love. Please, come home, I’m officially begging you to _come home_ , Harry.” As if to get the point across, Draco spun Harry around slowly and the sight Harry was met with made his stomach clench. Draco’s face was red and splotchy, his grey eyes dark and dull, the whites of his eyes bloodshot. He’d been crying. Outside of his nightmares, Harry couldn’t think of the last time he’d seen Draco cry. 

 

“Shite,” Harry whispered, pulling Draco into his arms more tightly than he meant to and inhaling a deep whiff of citrus. 

 

“Come home, Harry,” Draco repeated, mumbling into Harry’s thick mass of raven hair. His bony fingers were clutches tightly to the back of Harry’s jacket. 

 

“Okay,” Harry said simply, a small beam of consciousness trying to worm its way through the alcohol. He hated seeing Draco cry. Draco didn’t cry and it broke some special piece of him to know Draco had been crying over  _ him.  _ Draco was crying because  _ he _ was hurting and it made him appreciate his boyfriend all the more. 

 

“Take me home, love,” he whispered against Draco’s neck, letting the citrus smell that was uniquely Draco flood his senses and give him something to latch onto, something to keep him in the present. 

 

Nodding, Draco pulled back and stood alert as Harry wobbled to his feet. Once he was standing, Draco snaked an arm around Harry’s waist and led him outside, They caught a taxi home. Neither one of them spoke in the stillness of the car, both of them preferring to listen to the cabbie ramble as they both made noncommittal noises to keep him talking. Once they arrived home, Draco led Harry to their bedroom and tenderly helped him into bed, smiling sadly at him. 

 

“I’m an arse,” Harry mumbled face down into his pillow. “You just wanted to do something nice for my birthday and I had to go running…” he sighed, flopping around like a carp out of water until he was lying on his back, gazing up at Draco. 

 

“It’s alright, love,” Draco brushed a few strands of hair away from his lover’s face, smiling that odd little half smile he did when Harry knew things were far from ‘alright.’ 

 

“I prolly scared you half to dea-“ Harry froze, clamping his mouth shut. 

 

“Shh,” Draco leaned forward and kissed Harry’s forehead “let’s go to bed, love. We can talk in the morning. Everything will be a little bit better in the morning.” 

 

Harry nodded, opening his arms and trying to suppress tears when Draco fell into him so readily, so effortlessly. They both fell into a hard, deep sleep, with Harry clutching to Draco like a life preserver. 

 

Neither of them had anticipated just how badly Harry’s 21st birthday would go. He was officially the same age as when his parents died and it filled him with so many emotions that he felt as though he’d drown in them. Harry didn’t know what he would have done if Draco hadn’t found him, talked sense into him, brought him home. Some days, Harry didn’t know what he would do without Draco, period. He truly was his life preserver some days, keeping him afloat in the maelstrom of emotions and regrets and nightmares that bombarded him even years after the war. He’d lost so many. He’d done so many many things wrong he wished he could change. But he couldn’t change the past. It was something his Mind Healer kept stressing. Harry could only affect the present and that meant holding onto Draco tightly in all the moments he wanted to push him away. Affecting the future meant learning he was worthy of all the love Draco had to give him. Harry wanted to savor it. 

 

So he held on. He held on for the entire night until the first rays of light touched their faces. And when he woke up, he told Draco just how much he loved him. Again, and again, and again...because love, is the greatest weapon against anything. 

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly love Drarry so much. That is all. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.


End file.
